Thrive in Five

Being authentic and true to yourself has many benefits, including confidence, connection, reduced stress, and increased health. However, it’s no secret that authenticity can be elusive, and it can be challenging to accomplish a true and consistent sense of self. This Thrive is focused on giving you foundational tips for being your “you-est” you.

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Be Your “You-est” You

Often we are put in situations where we feel we need to be or act like someone else. We feel pressures both externally and internally that tell us we should be something different.

“You should be more organized.”
“You should exercise more.”
“You should eat better.”
“You should call your parents more.”
“You should work harder.”
“You should work less.”

The list goes on and on, and we’ve all experienced “the shoulds.” Well we’re here to help you embrace who you are and be true to yourself.

They had connection as a result of authenticity.
They were willing to let go of who they thought they should be
in order to be who they were, which you have to absolutely do
for connection.

Brené Brown speaks to vulnerability and being authentic in her TED Talk – one of the most popular talks of all time.

Using Dr. Brown’s TED Talk and our own experience with authenticity, we’ve come up with a few tips for how to achieve true authenticity and for how to maintain it:

Be self-aware. A huge part of being authentic is to be aware of yourself. What are you feeling? Why are you feeling that way? What motivates you? How do you want to grow? What are you good at? What do you admire about others? Asking these questions can feel uncomfortable and “mushy,” but we promise that’s the first step to embracing your whole self.

Embrace your imperfections. Acknowledge your imperfections, understand that they make you who you are, and embrace them. Does that mean you shouldn’t continue to grow and develop? Does this mean you should have the “I’m me. Take it or leave it.” mentality? Definitely not! Just be sure you’re not compromising your values, and make sure you’re growing and developing how YOU want to, and not how others want you to.

Know your values. At the core of who we are is what we believe and what we value. By defining and understanding your values, you can gut-check if something is affecting who you are. If a situation is uncomfortable but doesn’t compromise your values, give it a shot! If it does, say no, thanks. Stick to them, and you’ll find a deeper sense of self in everything you do.

Discomfort leads to growth. Situations that make you uncomfortable are great situations for helping you understand yourself. This overlaps with understanding your emotions, but uncomfortable situations are also some of the biggest opportunities for growth. Putting yourself out there in uncomfortable situations (that still align with your values) feels vulnerable, but vulnerability is normal! And as Brené Brown mentions, vulnerability leads to connection – connection with what you do and those around you.

Ditch those who want to change you. Surround yourself with people who accept and celebrate who you are. If they are trying to change you, it should be in a supportive way where they’re helping you grow in the ways that you want to. Create and maintain relationships that make you a better you.

There’s a theme here you may have noticed: being authentic can be uncomfortable! You have to put yourself out there to be judged and not always kindly, but by being vulnerable, you’ll build yourself a network of family, friends, work, values, community… the list goes on… where you can be your “you-est” you. This is the key to true and consistent authenticity!

Apply the Five!

As mentioned above, understanding your values can help guide you to situations that help you grow in ways that are true to yourself. Your “homework” this Thrive is to define your values.

You can define your values in situations where you feel a strong emotion – anger, sadness, pride, shame, happiness, motivation, etc. That might seem broad, but think about it:

You finish a task, and you’re really proud. Why? Is it some of your best work? Did it exceed your boss’s or client’s expectations? Did you finish it before the deadline? Did you finish it in record time? Did you work on it with others? Did you finish it all by yourself? Did it challenge you? Did you learn a lot from it?

All of these questions can lead to a different value which identifies why you feel proud of the completed task. If you can understand the why’s of your emotions, you’ll find your values and get a better understanding of yourself and what drives you.

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Sarah Lowe!

In the competitive DC area, there’s a lot of “faking it ’til you make it.” Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a poker face. Because I’m a poor card player, I have always had to be comfortable in my skin and honest with myself.

I have also failed a lot: in school, in jobs, in relationships, in parenting (and I’m only 14 months in!). Evolving from failures has helped me grow into a more authentic self. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was from a dear friend who told me, “I admire your resiliency. If you fall off the horse, you get right back up.” Leveraging vulnerable moments to learn from mistakes is critical to being authentic.

Left: Sarah sporting her middle school awesomeness. Right: Sarah acing a professional headshot.Motto: Lean into your awkwardness, and grow from it.

“Faking it” is upheld in our culture, but why do we aspire to lack authenticity? Being our authentic selves is vulnerable, and vulnerability is one of our strongest assets to connecting to others. There is a level of dishonesty in “faking it,” so I say embrace the failures and struggles in life! In Brené Browns’ TED Talk, called The Power of Vulnerability, she discusses human connection. She says that connection is “what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”

I challenge everyone to try to say, “I don’t know!” more often. See if this simple phrase changes your perspective, your personal and working relationships, and your sense of self in being a truer you!

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

As the world gets smaller and smaller, our work force spreads wider and wider. Remote work is becoming increasingly popular with new technology with the trend towards more flexible working environments, but this begs the question, “What’s the best way to engage with remote employees?”

This Thrive in Five lays out the top tips for helping your distant employees feel like part of the team.

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Expand your Community!

We read as many articles as we could, and we pulled out the themes from all the tips and strategies for engaging employees. We’ve ordered from most prevalent to least!

Build Relationships! No matter who you are – introvert or extrovert – people like to be cared about. Ask how they’re doing and genuinely mean it. Remote employees often don’t have the luxury of the water cooler chat, so build in time in your meetings to have some lighter conversation.

Communicate! It’s no surprise that this is a top theme we uncovered. Communication is key to engagement, remote employees or not. Employees need a platform to speak and be heard, and need to be given the appropriate amount of information and resources – not too little and not too much.

Focus on the work instead of the when. One of the big advantages of being a remote employee is having more autonomy in how and when you do your work. If you’re a manager of someone remote, promote this instead of micromanaging. If employees can work how they want and when they want, they are usually happier and more engaged.

Check in frequently. While you want to allow for autonomy and flexibility, you don’t want to leave remote employees on an island, either! Regular check-ins to see how things are going, answer questions, and address concerns are critical for staying engaged with any employee.

Use technology. “Face-to-Face” time doesn’t have to be in person. A video chat (yes, where you actually see the other person) is a good substitute for making that connection. You can also use technology to create a platform for project plans, communication, time management and more. Check out the options and see what works best for everyone on the team.

Reward good work. All good work should be rewarded. This could be as simple as saying, “Great job!” Or you could give a little extra with a spot bonus, “Employee of the Month” award, or some Paid Time Off to let them catch their breath after working so hard.

Keep a connection with the company. Remote employees, just like local employees, are usually more engaged if they see their impact in the big picture. Provide resources and have frequent discussions about how work is connected to the overall organizational goals. Employees who understand the impact of their work and buy in to their role in the company’s success are going to be your most engaged employees.

Eyes on the prize! Set goals, set milestones to those goals, and don’t lose sight! Of course, you should re-adjust as needed, but having something to work towards and hitting milestones along the way is motivating to most! Celebrate the smaller successes to boost engagement and continue the drive towards the bigger goal.

You might notice something interesting about all these tips… They work for any employee, not just the remote ones! Be active about touching base and about getting and giving feedback about what’s working and what isn’t.

Apply the Five!

Depending on your role in the remote, working relationship, we have two different “Apply the Five’s” for you:

Do you manage a remote employee?

Set a time to chat with your employee about what’s working and what’s not.

Do they feel like part of the team/company?

What do they like about remote work?

What don’t they like?

Which remote practices do they want to keep doing?

What do they want to change?

Are you a remote employee?

Make a list of three things.

Which remote practices do you want to continue doing?

Which do you want to stop?

What do you want to start doing?

Get some time with your manager to talk about your list, and see how you can both improve the remote work environment.

We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge that remote work is a two-way street. It is the manager’s responsibility to make an effort to connect with their remote employees and check in, and it is the employee’s responsibility to speak up if something isn’t working or they feel disengaged. If both parties take responsibility for their roles, the remote work environment can be a very successful one!

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Joe Kovack!

Joe and his wife Diane catching the sunset at the lake.

I began my professional career as an Air Traffic Control Specialist in Colorado and after my retirement, joined the remote workforce supporting a client in New Jersey. Before my career change, my experience telecommuting was sparse – a week or two working on a project that required remote work was about it. After my job change, I was a little worried about being able to connect with the company community and culture, but in the past couple of years, I’ve learned a lot about how to stay engaged and inspired as a full-time, remote worker.

In my situation, I try to make the most of the time difference by enjoying the two hours of silence in the morning since I’m on Mountain time and my client is on the East Coast. Getting off early and spending some time outside is an amazing reward for waking up at 5 am to do the virtual commute in the morning darkness. I believe that remote employees can be a contributor to the culture in office. Although there are some things that will be out of your reach, there are many other ways to help out virtually.

Here are some tips for staying engaged while working remotely:

Stay connected – Technology is your friend, remember to use the tools, such as Skype, IM, etc.

Set up a dedicated workspace – Try to keep it functional and FUN.

Make the time zone work for you – “The early bird catches the worm.”

Set up regular meetings with leadership – it keeps you sharp and engaged.

Respond quickly – To the extent possible, be “virtually onsite”.

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

In many ways, a successful career is a game of stamina and patience, even when working at a job you love. We’re only human and will burn out in a flame of glory if we don’t learn to pace ourselves. Burnout is found to cause loss of sleep, increased anxiety, frequent illness and constant fatigue. Hard work and long hours are only worth it if you can enjoy yourself throughout the process.

Read more in this Thrive in Five to learn some tips and tricks to avoid burnout this year!

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Be Productive – Not Busy

Own your calendar – An empty space on your calendar does not (always) mean that you must accept that 30 meeting from a co-worker when you really needed those minutes to prepare for your next big meeting. Sometimes it helps to actually block out time on your calendar to do specific tasks.

Prioritize – As you move up in your career, there will be more emails in your inbox, more tasks on your to-do list and more meetings on your calendar, but no more hours in the day to get it all done. Try, at the beginning of each day (or end the day prior), taking a step back and evaluating what the most impactful tasks are that you need to accomplish. (Source)

Learn to say no – If you are someone who feels the need to please others and put their needs before your own, it can be a very daunting thought to assert yourself to say no. Once you start learning to say no, you will reduce the stress and the likelihood of burnout. Hint: Click the orange tip to learn more about the benefits of saying no!

Delegate – Many professionals experience burnout because they fail to know when to delegate, especially when they are enthusiastic to show they can do it all. Inevitably, this mentality can lead to burn-out. Delegation is a valuable skill, use it! (Source)

Know how to recharge, and quickly – Working long hours without taking an effective break will always lead to burnout. Experiment to figure out what works best – meditation, a walk around the block, a quick phone call with mom – and spend your free time on those supercharging activities.

Know your core values – If you do this, you’ll be able to remind yourself of what’s important to address and what’s trivial.

Set boundaries – This allows for a set aside (guilt free!) time for you to rest and recharge! For example, if you don’t like to talk on the phone after 9pm, when at home set phone to “do not disturb” from 9pm until 9am. (Source)

Apply the Five!

Burnout can creep up on the best of us. If you’re reading this Thrive, it’s a good guess that you might be already feeling its effects and want to know how you can counter it before you burn out in that flame of glory mentioned above.

That being said, our “Apply the Five” this time is to pick at least 1 or 2 of the tips above to work on this year to help feed that flame of glory so it burns all year without burning you!

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Denise Dommes!

Growing up, I was very close with my grandmother, and she would often tell me “Denise, you should always treat others as you wish they would treat you”. I truly believe in the “Golden Rule,” so I always live by it, but how does it prevent burn out?

First – I’ve realized that to “treat others as you want to be treated,” you need to “treat yourself”first, so I make sure to incorporate these things into my life:

“Me Time” – time away from everyone, just for myself. This could be watching “mindless TV,” listening to music, or sitting outside with a glass of wine.

Exercise – bike riding, working out at the gym, and jogging are my staples.

Time with my best friend, my daughter Laura.

Denise and her daughter, Laura, in NYC Mother’s Day Weekend 2018

Second – I’m an organized person. For me, the feeling of being overwhelmed comes from not having a good sense of everything that needs to get done or how I’m going to accomplish it. Writing it all down eases that stress and makes me realize that everything is manageable.

Third – It gives me joy to chat with and learn about a person – not just about their work, but about their personal lives, families, and yes, their favorite college football team! I am a huge Kansas State Wildcats fan – EMAW! So, if you see me and we haven’t met yet, introduce yourself!

Lastly – I try to remember that happiness is a state of mind that you can absolutely choose. It’s not always easy, but I can always find the positive, and I’d much rather work to find the positive than dwell on the negative!

So, treat yourself (and don’t feel guilty when you do), try to find the positive, and be happy. It’s infectious!

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

Happy New Year! Our guess is that you had some time over the holidays to hang out with friends or family, or you found some sacred time to yourself to catch up on your favorite shows. But our big question is: Did you laugh?

Think about the last time you had a really good belly-laugh. What was it about? How did you feel afterwards? Is it making you smile now? How does it make you feel just thinking about it?

Chances are high that you probably felt pretty darn good after a healthy laugh, and you probably even feel a little more relaxed just re-living the scenario in your head. Why is that? Are there any measurable benefits to laughing? If we’ve sparked your interest, read on to learn more in this Thrive in Five!

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Laughter, like remaining positive, releases neuropeptides which help fight stress and other illnesses.

Another fun fact about laughter is that even if you fake it, your body responds to it as if it’s real. AND, if you fake it long enough, it most likely will turn into real laughter! So… if you’re having a rough time or feeling stressed, find a safe space where you can laugh it out! Maybe just put headphones in or something so people don’t think you’re nuts, or invite them to join you!

The last interesting thing we’d like to share about laughter is this awesome study on college students that showed that humor actually lowered anxiety more than exercise! Good news for you busy folks out there, but don’t let that convince you to drop your New Year’s resolution! (Shameless plug: Have you seen our Thrive about how less exercise is more when it comes to increasing productivity and energy?)

Apply the Five!

This is a fun Thrive, so you get “fun” homework!

For this Thrive, we challenge you to find 30 minutes every day to laugh (or at least smile).

Whether that means:

happy hour with a co-worker,

watching a sitcom,

listening to comedy podcasts on your way to and from work,

watching fail videos on YouTube,

browsing the “aww” section of Reddit, or

joining an improv class…

it’s up to you! Just laugh and reap the benefits!

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Jake Howard!

Jake sporting his holiday attire circa 2015 for a prank picture for his grandma – she didn’t find it funny, but hopefully you will!

I’m definitely one of those guys that finds humor in just about everything. There’s something so incredibly rewarding when you can get a friend or coworker to completely lose it and breakdown laughing… even better when you get one of those little snorts.

I think it’s fantastic how we all have our own brand of humor. You might be into situational comedy where you’re basically a walking Seinfeld episode, or perhaps you never take yourself too seriously and indulge in a little self-deprecation, or maybe, just maybe, you’re my old co-worker “Bill” who has that special soul-crushing “humor” and never fails with the old, “Hey Big Guy! Workin’ hard or hardly workin’? Heh heh hyahh!” *Queue finger guns* (I think we’ve all worked with this guy.)

No matter your style, laughter is such a powerful way to connect with people; we can’t help but want to be around those who make us laugh. Too often we get so caught up with the back-to-back (to back) meetings and looming deadlines that we forget to take the time to give ourselves, and those around us, a little chuckle. Don’t be afraid to take a few seconds to include that amusing anecdote in the team status email or stick around after the staff meeting and partake in some witty banter.

So go ahead… holster those finger guns, spice up those email chains, and it could be you that makes someone’s day a little bit brighter.

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

We’ve all heard that exercise increases productivity, but how much exercise are we talking about? Because we all know time is a factor! Well… Good news! It turns out less is more when it comes to working out. No need to have those grueling workouts to get the boost you’re looking for!

Read more in this Thrive in Five to learn the pros and cons to exercising during the work day!

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Less is More

Exercise has many benefits which we’re sure you’ve heard of, but here’s a quick re-cap from Healthline:

It strengthens your muscles and bone (yes, bone!)

It reduces your risk of chronic diseases

It helps slow aging in your skin

It improves your capacity to memorize

It helps you relax and sleep better

It can help reduce chronic pain

It releases endorphins making you feel happier

What you might be surprised to learn is that more is not always better when it comes to exercise.

If your goal is to sleep better or combat insomnia, then vigorous exercise is great! However, if your goal is to increase your energy and mood, then vigorous exercise can have the opposite effect.

Productivityist.com mentions a couple studies that support this statement. One showed that low-intensity exercise reduced feelings of being tired more than high-intensity exercise. They mention another study as well that found that high-intensity exercise (cycling, in this case) actually reduced the person’s attention, memory and problem-solving abilities immediately after exercise, and these effects continued for more than 20 minutes after exercise was stopped.

Key takeaways:

If you have a lot to get done, don’t do a really intense work out before or in the middle of your workday – it will actually wipe you out.

Low-intensity exercise is best if you’re looking for a pick-me-up from the after-lunch coma routine – try walking or yoga!

Apply the Five!

No surprises here… your “homework” is to exercise! We’re not going to ask that you workout every day for 30 minutes, even though that’s what is recommended by most physicians. Instead, all we ask is that you make a conscious effort to increase your exercise when possible.

Here are a handful of helpful tips to get you started:

Park in the spaces furthest from your destination.

Use the stairs instead.

Step in place during commercials.

Walk to dinner and back if possible.

Walk for 5 minutes every hour.

Take the long way to the office bathroom.

Walk the dog instead of just letting him or her out to use the bathroom.

Get up and walk around during phone calls.

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Ryan Burke!

Even Achilles surgery doesn’t keep Ryan from getting “the zoomies”!

“I need you to live until you’re 90”. My wife seems to speak these words nearly every week. But in today’s world full of stress and numerous vices, how can someone make such a request? Sure, if I were to eat and drink the way nutritionists recommend, and couple that with a strict workout routine, I would no doubt be looking like a fitness model. But I’d also be broke, bored, and missing out on so many of the wonderful things this world has to offer.

I enjoy food. I enjoy drinks. I enjoy stuffing my face at midnight while binge watching Netflix and drinking eggnog that clocks in around 800 calories per glass. So how does one stay (relatively) fit while also enjoying the things they love?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you… the zero-sum game.

The idea is simple: workout to offset the terrible things you love. T he key is to find a workout routine that excites you and finding a time that works best with your schedule. Some of us have more energy in the morning, while others prefer to hit the gym after work. The internet is filled with hundreds of workout plans that fit your lifestyle; all you have to do is search. Find something that combines free weights and cardio, and start hitting the gym. The hardest part is pushing through the excuses of being tired, or too busy, etc. It helps to find a buddy who will push you through your workout, but if you commit yourself to working out on a regular basis, you’ll be enjoying those milkshakes in no time.

And if anyone is looking for a workout partner, or someone to yell at them throughout a workout, give me a call.

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

Imagine the perfect boss. He or she is probably supportive of your professional and personal life. He or she is probably an expert at what they do. He or she is probably not overly-confident nor indecisive. He or she probably isn’t afraid to admit mistakes or ask for help. He or she is probably always looking for ways to improve through feedback or through continued education.

How are we doing? Painting the perfect picture? We hope so! This edition of Thrive in Five is about promoting yourself. Essentially, we’re defining what makes the perfect boss, so you can then become the perfect candidate for moving up the ladder, or moving in the direction you desire (because not all growth is vertical).

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Be Your Best Advocate

There are lots of articles about different ways to promote yourself. Some tips include:

network

speak publicly

create a business case

write impact statements

make sure you get credit where credit is due

However, to us, these tips and articles were missing the “human-centered” element and felt a little self-centered. “What do you mean? You’re supposed to be self-centered when promoting yourself!” Well… at Evans, we don’t think so, so we came up with our own top tips to promoting yourself “The Evans Way.” We approach the situation in a little different light, because we feel to become a leader, you have to be the type of person you want to follow.

Here’s what we came up with:

Use your talents and skills selflessly. As some of us at Evans say, “Work yourself out of a job.” Do what you do well with the final goal being to help others, not yourself. It will come back around… we promise.

Develop those with an interest in doing what you do. Be a mentor to someone who is eager to learn. By investing in the future of our workforce, you’re investing in yourself.

Openly share your knowledge by teaching. The best way to gain credibility in what you do is to teach others! Write blogs, teach a class, be a keynote speaker. Share what you know with the intent to teach, and others will come to see you as a leader in your field.

Be confident but stay humble. There’s a balance to being confident in your skills and being a know-it-all. Accept that while you might know a lot, you never know everything. And it’s 100% OK to admit when you don’t know!

Take ownership but give credit where credit is due. If you did a great job, don’t by any means downplay your hard work. However, definitely give props to those who supported the success. Notice that we didn’t say “your success” – hardly anyone accomplishes anything single-handedly.

Grow continually. Ask questions. Attend seminars. Read books. Do research. Never stop seeking to gain more knowledge. The more you know (and share!), the more others will see leadership in you.

Ask for feedback more than you give it. We almost put this as part of the previous bullet, but we thought it deserved its own spotlight. Asking for feedback is one of the most important things you can do to become a leader. Being imperfect is to be human, but admitting imperfection and seeking improvement suggestions from others is part of being a great leader.

Apply the Five!

Do our self-promotion tips resonate with you? Do you want to know how you’re doing? Well… we’ve created a simple self-assessment to tell you! Answer as honestly as possible, and try not to pick the answer you think is “correct” to get the best results. After you finish, view your score, and come back here to figure out how you did!

0-15 points: Maybe you’re great at putting a good word in for yourself, or doing what’s expected of you, but try to put a little more emphasis on how you can promote yourself by helping others. We bet you’ll notice a difference in how others support you if you take the initiative to support them first!

15-25 points: You’re off to a great start! It looks like you have a good foundation in considering others when you act. To continue to build on this, pick one or two of the questions you did not receive points for, and focus on improving in these areas.

25-35 points: You’re killing it at promoting yourself “The Evans Way”! Keep up the great work!

Do you want to see how you answered compared to others? Click the “View Previous Results” link on the screen displayed right after you submit your answers.

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Emily Rego!

Emily literally climbing a ladder as a metaphor for figuratively climbing the corporate ladder!

“Promoting yourself” seems to me like an elusive concept that every professional is inundated with since one’s very first adult job interview. Yet as often as I have heard the phrase, I’ve historically been uncomfortable putting these words into practice. Not to say I’m a stranger to hard work and think I’m not worthy of promotion, because even though I give 1000% at everything I agree to take on (even if, like in basketball, I would never be particularly good at it), I am the first to hide from the spotlight, feeling that I totally don’t deserve it.

To explain, there is no way I would be able to shine in sports if my teammates weren’t amazing as well. There’s no way I would be recognized for performing well at work if my co-workers and clients weren’t there to show up to fill in my gaps and teach me along the way. There’s no way that the one time I had an intern I could have taught her so well if she wasn’t willing to learn.

However, discovering the Evans’ way of promoting oneself has given me a new perspective on this phrase’s meaning and how I have unconsciously taken steps to promote myself and others around me all along. I hope to grow more as a professional in 2019, be more intentional in my actions, and keep promoting not only myself but all of my Evans peers in this new year!

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

You only get 6 hours of sleep one night, and you wake up feeling groggy. So you go to bed early the next night and get 10 hours of sleep, and you’re still groggy. Something’s got to give!

People spend roughly a third of their lives sleeping, so it’s not surprising to learn how important sleep is to the function of our bodies and minds. Our cognitive function is seriously affected by our sleep, and this goes for when we get too little and too much. In this Thrive in Five, we explore the effects and what we can do to make sure we’re getting our best sleep possible.

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

More is not always better!

There are TONS of studies out there about how a lack of sleep affects you, but we’ve narrowed our focus down to a few fast facts you may not know, shared by the NeuroLeadership Institute:

An estimated 80,000 drivers fall asleep at the wheel every day. (No, we did not accidentally add an extra zero.)

When you sleep, your brain “practices” activities you did during the day to help increase proficiency and improve your memory of them.

One bad night of sleep does more damage than one good one can repair.

A 10-minute nap has the biggest benefit in alertness and performance both immediately after and up to three hours later.

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room: too much sleep isn’t good either!

Dr. Mercola shared a study that we found very interesting. The study concluded that, while cognitive function starts to decrease a little every year naturally from aging, the cognitive function of those who slept 9 hours or more every night decreased twice as much as those who slept 6-8 hours every night, leading to an increased risk for dementia-related health problems.

Similarly, the University of Western Ontario conducted the world’s largest sleep study (44,000 people) and concluded that peoples’ cognitive functions, particularly their problem-solving abilities, are equally negatively affected when they get too little and too much sleep.

With all this being said, it’s important to understand what exactly is the right amount of sleep for you, so you can maintain your optimal brain function. Basically all the research out there recommends between 7 and 9 hours, but, like many statistics, this is based on a bell-curve, so there are people whose ideal range of sleep ranges all the way from 4 hours to 12 hours a night.

Apply the Five!

The key to getting a good night’s sleep is to find the amount of sleep that works best for you and stay consistent. To help you determine how much is the right amount for you, we’ve created another tool, which you can access below. It’s fairly basic, so if you want something more advanced and more accessible, there are tons of apps out there. Either way, the goal is to individualize your sleep pattern to fit what works best for you.

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Mila Hanauer!

Mila and daughter, Alisa, enjoying lunch break together!

We always hear that it is important to take care of our health. This becomes crucial when you find yourself a new parent back to work and running short on sleep. Having to get up in the middle of the night (sometimes more than once!), forces you to pay close attention to sleep. Running your body on overdrive can only take you so far before you reach diminishing returns…

After going back to work, I had to figure out how to manage my time and my sleep to be efficient both at work and at home. I have learned that I need to listen to my body and notice when it functions best. Now I know that it works best for me to tackle the most important task of the day in the morning when I am most alert. I also know that no matter how tempting, snoozing after 7am does not make me feel more rested. Just like my baby, I thrive on having a schedule and going to bed around the same hour every night.

Just remember that your body knows what you need to stay healthy. All you need is to pay attention, listen… and sleep!

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

Since the moment we could conceptualize what a job was, we’ve probably been ingrained with the “9-5” mentality. Picture this: Alarm goes off. Get ready. Commute. Start Work at 9. (Lunch?) Work until 5. Drive home. Sound familiar?

Well… what if we told you there’s a better way to work? In this Thrive, we discover the new productivity model that breaks the 9-5 mold.

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

“9-5” is Old News!

What if you could determine when to work based on the times of day where you know you’ll be most productive ?

There has been a lot of research correlating time of day to aspects that we know affect productivity. One in particular is mood. It’s basically common knowledge that those who are in a good mood are more productive than those in a bad mood. So if we knew, generally speaking, what times of day people are more likely to be in a good mood, it makes sense to work during those times.

Daniel Pink, best-selling author, explores timing in his New York Times best seller When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Based on the research he references, the typical 9-5 workday falls within a time of day when peoples’ moods are diminishing.

While this research doesn’t give us causation, it does allow us to understand the best timing for completing specific tasks, whether or not you can actually change your work schedule. For example:

More difficult tasks that require more focus and positive vibes should be completed in the morning, before our mood starts to decline.

Important meetings shouldn’t be scheduled in the afternoon when our mood is in its deepest trough. The same goes for important decisions.

Easier, more-enjoyable tasks should be completed in the afternoon to help balance out a decreased mood and maintain productivity.

Apply the Five!

The big picture created from big data is great for an overall understanding, but every individual is different. We need to take the time to understand our own peaks and troughs throughout the day, which is what our “Apply the Five” is focused on.

To help with this, we’ve created a tool to help you track your mood throughout the day. Using this tool, you’ll be able to understand your own mood’s trends to help inform when you should do certain tasks and when you can be most productive. Click below to access the tool, and go to File > “Download as” to save your own copy!

Tip: There are also some apps if you prefer to have something easy on your phone!

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Jennafer (Naffer) Miller!

Naffer and kids, Michaela and Cameron at Hershey Park.

As a summer camp staff member and administrator, I often said that at camp, a day feels like a week, and a week feels like a day. Each summer was magical in its own way, but camp is a high-energy, jam-packed experience, and a very real time of each camp season was the “Sixth Week Slump.” Throughout his book (see above), Pink refers to peaks, troughs, and recoveries.

We didn’t focus on “the slump” every year, but we planned towards it, for it, and how to rebound from it. It was our seasonal “trough.” It was a period when there was heightened camper drama, staff illness, a lower creativity and energy for planning and participating in activities, and a general camp-wide dip in mood. Knowing it was going to happen influenced the way we set up the weekly schedules, special events, and staff programs. My own kids, who have grown up at camps with and without me, have both felt it, and more profoundly so when they were still young enough to be living with me during the summers. With careful planning, however, we were able to get through the slumps with higher spirits, productivity, and energy than those seasons when we just plowed through.

So much of what we do at Evans includes thoughtful considerations of our individual strengths, how we function in groups and as teams, and our company’s DNA as a whole. A thoughtful consideration of time could be another element for us to include. Within each day or over the course of a year, we can all keep those peaks, troughs, and recoveries in mind as we plan.

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

We’ve probably all been in a situation where you were “led” by someone who didn’t seem fit for the role. There are multiple reasons why we don’t see leadership qualities in certain people, all of which usually speak to their credibility. In this edition of Thrive in Five, we explore leadership credibility and the steps you can take to make sure you’re portraying yourself as a leader in others’ eyes.

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Leading Persuasively

Great leaders naturally persuade others of their leadership capabilities. AllBusiness.com identifies 9 ways to build credibility as a leader:

Respect – In order to be a leader, or really just as a human being, you have to give respect to get respect.

Trust – Those who follow have to trust their leader, and those who lead need to show trust in those who follow them.

Loyalty – Great leaders show that they’re committed to those who support them.

Accountability – If you make a mistake or say you’re going to do something, own up to it or stick to it.

Work Towards Goals – It’s hard to follow someone who doesn’t have a direction to lead. Having a goal gives you and your team something to work towards.

Act – Actions speak louder than words. Show your credibility by showing you know what you’re talking about by actually doing it. Be the example.

Be an Expert – Demonstrating expertise is a sure way to prove your credibility on a certain topic, which is a great step towards building credibility as a leader. However, being a subject matter expert doesn’t automatically make you qualified to be a leader.

Keep Learning – Nobody knows everything. Great leaders understand this and continue their knowledge journey. They are also happy to share their knowledge.

Be Honest – It’s no secret that lying is a sure way to blow your credibility.

Lastly, we’d like to add one of our own tips that we’ve picked up from experience:

Be Consistent

Have you ever had a manager who reacted in a supportive way one time and then unreasonably another time? Or maybe you were “scolded” for something that your co-worker wasn’t? After that, you were probably walking on glass around them since you had no idea how they would respond. It’s hard to trust your leader when you can’t reasonably understand and predict their reactions. As a manager, being consistent helps prove your credibility and allows people to follow and support you without hesitation.

Apply the Five!

Progress is made in small steps. If you’re reading this Thrive, it’s a good guess that you probably want to know how you can improve your credibility, or you want to see if you’re a credible leader.

Well, there’s always room for growth, even for the best of us! So our “Apply the Five” for you this time is to pick 1 or 2 of the tips above to work on . We’ve developed an Action Plan template that you can access at the link below. Feel free to print it out and complete, and keep at your desk or with your computer to remind you to stay accountable (one of the qualities of a credible leader)!

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Jack Moore!

Like many of you, I have children, two teenagers, that commandeer much of my “free” time. I really enjoy my time with them, although much of it’s spent in the stands at their various sporting events. As soon as we became parents, my wife and I realized we had to be consistent with our parenting approach, not only between the two of us, but also between the two kids. Any chink in that consistency armor was sniffed out and exploited to no end, frequently leading to a “that’s not fair – life’s not fair” exchange I’m sure many of you have experienced. Being consistent requires increased communication and coordination that slows some decisions down, but ultimately helps reduce the number of tears shed in the Moore household.

Jack and family enjoying their vacation in 2018!

While inconsistency at Evans hasn’t resulted in the same tears I’ve experienced at home, it clearly can be just as damaging. There were times, hopefully all in the past, where our Executive Team members were inconsistent in how we approached a situation and, being who they are, Evans Nation let us know. Like the Moore household, we had to increase communication within our team and better coordinate outside our team. Inconsistency pops up every now and then, so we’re still working on it, but, informally, I have heard that incidences of “that’s not fair” are down.

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)

One of our focuses of expertise at Evans is on forming and developing High Performing Teams (HPT). A big aspect of high performing teams that makes them stand out from the crowd is the element of trust. There are different things you can do to build trust, such as keep your promises, be honest and ask for feedback, but all of that means nothing without an underlying understanding of safety. We dive deeper into this concept in this Thrive in Five.

Do you want to get inspiring and growth-oriented messages to fuel your learning and be your best self? Click below to get the bi-weekly Thrive in Five messages sent directly to your inbox!

Psychological Safety

Imagine a team you’re on currently or a previous team you’ve been a part of. Think of a time when you didn’t agree with a decision or when you made a mistake. Did you feel comfortable speaking up with your concerns or with admitting your mistake? Why did you feel this way? Chances are you either felt safe doing so or you didn’t.

Safety is an innate need as a human being. Just look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Safety is second only to physiological needs. Often times we think of safety as physical safety. Shelter from weather… free from physical harm… but what does safety mean in a team setting? The key is psychological safety, and without it, you can’t establish trust or have a high performing team.

Amy Edmondson’s graph for reaching the Learning Zone – the ideal zone for high performing teams.

Amy Edmondson, Harvard Professor of Leadership and Management, has been studying psychological safety for decades, and she defines it as “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.” She explains that psychological safety can be created with 3 practices:

Frame the work as a learning problem – NOT an execution problem. This creates the rationale for speaking up.

Acknowledge your own fallibility. This creates safety for speaking up.

If you are able to implement all 3 practices, you can truly start to develop trust, and bring your team from the comfort zone, apathy zone, or anxiety zone into the learning zone.

Amy Edmondson has a great 11.5 minute TED Talk about psychological safety. If you’re interested in learning more about her research and findings, you can watch the talk below.

Apply the Five!

The first step to improvement is self-awareness and acknowledgement that there is room to improve. For this Thrive, all we ask is for you to increase your awareness of the psychological safety of your environment. Luckily for all of us, Amy Edmondson also created a psychological safety self-assessment with a total of 11 questions. It’s quick and easy, and the higher the rating, the better your team’s psychological safety! Click below to print!

Learn How Evans Thrives!

What better way to inspire you to thrive than to hear about real people making it happen? And what better way to learn about Evans than to make those real people Evans employees and partners?

Meet Chris Shoemaker!

I once held a Project Manager role which required significant communication between my team and the Stakeholders. My manager gave us little direction for how to approach our client counterparts, so our team brainstormed how to properly provide support for them.

Our solution was simple – establish trust early.

As a consultant, you want the Stakeholders to understand they can look to you for support. Therefore, our team developed trust with the client early on in our young project through great performance and personal relationships.

The parental relationship is one where trust is a huge factor. I think our kids, our oldest Oliver shown here, are great proof for the awesome team my wife and I make!

I’ve found this lesson critical for any facet of life. In 2009, my wife and I found out we were expecting our first child. As incredible a feeling as that was, we were scared (and not just because we found out immediately after seeing Paranormal Activity). We had no idea how to raise a child, but we knew we had to trust in the strength of our relationship to be the best parents as possible. Now we are the proud parents of Oliver (8) and Ariel (6)!

I’ve also been a member of various bands (guitar, drums, bass, singing, etc.), and whether we’re writing songs or performing on stage, trust in my band mates has always been crucial for our progression.

As you can see from my experience, success begins with trust in others and in yourself for your professional career, personal life and your hobbies.

Until Next Time…
Evans’ Talent Engagement Team
(Kaitlin Hurley and Nicole Anderson)